Protective Moose Lecture
by Ija
Summary: In which John is suddenly alive, Dean is understandably nervous, and Sam is extremely protective of his big brother. Also features Charlie. Warnings: OOC!John. Features heavily implied Destiel, but Cas is present for all of two sentences. Challenge from The Songbirds Are Singing. R


**Protective Moose Lecture**

So, he was really back. Back proper, back for good. Castiel had taken one look at him and shaken his head at Dean.

"It is him," he had said, with the gravity of one who has realised that Yellowstone is smoking. Wisely, the angel had made himself scarce, leaving poor Charlie, who had only stopped by to say hi on her way through the state, alone with the two brothers and their apparently no longer dead father.

Well, is was not going to be pleasant. John had barely stopped talking the entire time he had been present, peppering Dean's stunned explanations with questions. Charlie vacated the room, ostensibly to make coffee, while the small family sat around the table.

It wasn't comfortable. Sam flinched at each mention of demon blood and his role in starting the apocalypse. Dean's voice shook as he described his life with Lisa and Ben, or the deaths of Bobby, Jo and Ellen, and all their other fallen friends. Sam's heart lurched at the way John paled when they explained how they had met his father, how he had died, and the history they had learned of their family.

But Sam could also see something else, a danger. The way John's eyes narrowed when Dean told him about Benny. Or the way his head tilted in thought at Dean's odd tone when he described Cas. Eventually- presumably when she had run out of things that she could possibly do in the kitchen- Charlie returned. Sam felt reasonably confident that she had alphabetised their beers by that point.

"And, uh, this is Charlie," Sam said with a vague gesture towards her. "The hacker who helped us get the tablet off of Dick?"

"Right. So, what, she's a hunter now?" John's eyes were still on Dean, but Charlie answered for herself.

"No, sir. I'm just a friend."

"And occasional technical support," Sam added. "Dean, why don't you two go find two rooms for Charlie and Dad with no unpleasant surprises."

"Oh, it's fine, I can-"

Sam shot Charlie a glare. "Unpleasant surprises like booby traps. It's a two-man job."

"Oh, uh, right. Sure. Come on, Dean."

"But-"

"Do you want me to get booby-trapped? It that it? God, this place really is the bat cave." She dragged Dean away. Her lying had not improved, and John watched them leave with scepticism before turning on his son.

"What the hell happened to Dean?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Hell, purgatory, Bobby, Lisa… ringing any bells?"

"He's changed. The way he looked at that angel. And hanging out with a vampire? That's not the way I raised him!"

"No." Sam's voice, to his credit, did not raise in the slightest. "It's not. But it's who he is now. And he's better off for it."

"What are you talking about? You think I didn't see the way he looks at that angel of yours? And that girl- you know it's not safe to get close like that!"

"Charlie and Cas have both helped us a lot. They both mean a lot to Dean. He's changed, yeah, but he's happier for it."

"This is not the time to get emotional, Sam! You give me some ans-"

"No, Dad, listen to me!" Sam interrupted, his temper flaring. "Don't you dare have a go at Dean. He has been through so fucking much! And we have lost literally everyone. Every. Last. Person! All except Cas and, lately Charlie. Charlie is Dean's best friend, probably one of the best he's ever had. And Benny might have been a vampire, but he let Dean kill him to save me. And as for Cas…"

Sam took a swig of his drink. "Even I don't know exactly what Cas is to Dean. But I probably know better than either of them do. Cas saved Dean from Hell. Cas stood by us through the Apocalypse, carved sigils into his chest for us. Cas answered Dean's prayers, ran away to save him in Purgatory. Cas _broke out of mind control that could make him kill his brother for Dean. _And he's the only angel we ever met who wasn't a complete dick. He's a good friend to us both, but for Dean… Cas called it 'a profound bond' that they share. The other angels called it Cas' weakness. Dean called him family, and he _is. _Don't even think about tearing into Dean for changing, Dad."

If Sam was holding a large sword at this point, it was a complete coincidence, and he was in no way aiming at his father.

John said nothing for a few long moments before he nodded. "Okay, Sammy, I got it. Let's go find your brother." His tone had changed, Sam noted. It was almost warm.

"For the last time, Dad, it's Sam," he grumbled, leading the way towards one of the better-explored areas of the bunker, where they found Dean and Charlie fencing in one of the larger bedrooms, apparently having unearthed a large selection of swords blessed by Shinto priests under the bed. Dean froze when they came in, causing Charlie's blow to knock him onto the bed. He sat up, his eyes never leaving John.

Sam glanced from Dean to Charlie to their father. "Dad?" he asked, his voice somewhere between hope and warning.

John smiled. "Looks like a good haul you've got there. I'll take on the winner."

Dean beamed and shrugged. "Looks like Charlie already won."

Charlie's eyes flicked to Sam. "No, you won the first round. Anyway, if everything I've read about you is possible, Mr Winchester, I really doubt I'd have a chance. Here." She tossed her sword to John and he caught it deftly. "In the interests of not getting decapitated, Sam, I'd advise we get out of the way."

The pair of them sat back on the desk, watching the two elder Winchesters dance about the room.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I think dying really cheered him up," Sam joked. "He must have had a really fine heaven."

"Maybe he… spoke with someone there. Had the chance to sort himself out a bit."

"Yeah, maybe. Finally… finally avenging Mom must have lifted a weight off his chest too, of course," Sam murmured pensively.

Charlie let him muse for a moment and then added, "Your protective moose lecture probably made him rethink a couple of priorities, too."

Sam thudded his head back against the bookshelf. "Oh, God, not you too," he groaned.

_A/N: Yes, John is kind of OOC. That was kind of the point. Heaven and Hell and coming back to life would probably be a good incentive to pay serious attention to your son's lecture on attitude. Yes, Charlie and Cas are just kind of there. This is set with the assumption (probably untrue) that Cas checked in with the Winchester's briefly between his two trials, and it happened to be while Charlie was stopping by. No, I do not have any explanation of why John is there. It's Supernatural, maybe God did it. _

_This fic is dedicated to __**The Songbirds Are Singing**__, who was both the inspiration and the challenger._


End file.
